The Mpemba Peak Hike is a day outing near Blantyre, with the Mountain Club of Malawi. I provide details, photos and videos. It’s a very easy 1 hr hike in the heart of a rural village and agricultural land. This is a group-guided adventure on a shoestring. Follow the links to dig deeper into the adventure.
The Sunday outing with the Mountain Club of Malawi (but on a Saturday) was what? It was an easy hike to the peak of a Blantyre local hump (AKA hill).
The group consisted of 8 hikers and a local guide. The meet up was at the CI old Church where we piled into two vehicles with high road clearance (plus two souls headed off on mountain bikes). The trailhead is at an unmarked spot in farming lands just below the hill. The local access road (off the M1) is a mess. Don’t consider it with anything but a pickup or SUV. Not 4×4, but very rutted.
The hike up to the peak was via farming foot paths through cultivated fields. The locals were preparing the fields for the planting of corn and the approaching rain season. There are no trees and very little uncultivated land here. Even on the peak the soil is hand tilled for planting.
There are two peaks (bumps) on Mpemba. One on the east and the other on the west side. They are a few hundred meters apart and the elevation difference is minimal. Mpemba is essentially a rounded hill.
We took a short photo break at the top and retraced our steps back to the waiting cars. We were back at the CI Church well before noon.
Mpemba Peak Hike Summary
Distance: 2 km
Walk time up: 40 minutes
Elevation Gain: 258m
Mpemba Peak Hike GPS Data
Download the mpemba_gps files and load them into your phone’s Google maps or a phone GPS app such as Locus. Then you will have a track on your phone that you can follow when confused.
Visit Malawi Outdoors on a Shoestring for more adventures
